Homily for healing mass (Isaiah 54: 2-5; Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8-11; James 5: 13-16; Mark 2:1-12)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We gather today with hearts open to God's healing presence. Each of us comes carrying different burdens—physical ailments, emotional wounds, spiritual struggles. Some of us are here seeking healing for ourselves, others for loved ones. But all of us come with the same faith that Jesus Christ, our Divine Physician, has the power to heal and restore us.

In the Gospel of Mark, we read about a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years. The text tells us, "She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse" (Mark 5:26). Despite this, when she heard about Jesus, something stirred within her—hope was reborn. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured" (Mark 5:28).

This woman's faith is remarkable. After twelve years of suffering, after exhausting all her resources on treatments that only made her condition worse, she still believed that healing was possible. And not just possible—she was certain of it: "I *shall* be cured."

The Gospel continues: "She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who has touched my clothes?'" (Mark 5:29-30).

What happens next reveals something profound about Christ's healing ministry. Jesus could have simply let the woman go, healed but anonymous. Instead, he stops everything to find her. When she comes forward "in fear and trembling," Jesus says to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction" (Mark 5:34).

This encounter teaches us three essential truths about Christ's healing work in our lives.

First, Jesus heals the whole person. Notice that Jesus wasn't satisfied with just addressing the woman's physical ailment. He sought personal encounter with her. He called her "Daughter," affirming her identity and dignity. He commended her faith, acknowledging her spiritual strength. And he blessed her with peace, addressing her emotional well-being. This woman received physical healing, but she also experienced spiritual and emotional restoration through her encounter with Christ.

Saint Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic letter *Salvifici Doloris*, reminds us that "Christ drew close above all to the world of human suffering through the fact of having taken this suffering upon his very self." Jesus understands our suffering because he has experienced it himself. He knows what it means to feel physical pain, emotional anguish, and spiritual darkness. And because he knows, he heals with profound compassion and perfect understanding.

Second, faith opens the door to healing. The woman's certainty—"I shall be cured"—created a channel through which God's healing power could flow. Jesus himself acknowledges this: "Your faith has saved you." The Catechism teaches us that "faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us" (CCC 1814). Faith is not merely intellectual assent; it is trust that leads to action. The hemorrhaging woman's faith compelled her to reach out and touch Jesus' cloak despite the obstacles of the crowd and her ritual impurity.

In our own lives, faith means trusting that God desires our healing and wholeness, even when circumstances seem to suggest otherwise. It means persevering in prayer, in sacraments, and in hope, even when healing seems distant or impossible.

Third, healing is always an encounter with divine love. When Jesus heals, he doesn't just repair a physical problem—he pours out his love. The Gospel tells us that "power went out from him." This power is nothing less than the love of God made manifest. It is the same creative love that spoke the universe into being, the same redeeming love that conquered sin and death on the cross.

Saint Padre Pio, who bore in his body the wounds of Christ and was himself a channel of God's healing power, once said: "The greatest illness of our time is the absence of God." True healing always brings us closer to God, deepening our awareness of his presence and love in our lives.

Brothers and sisters, as we participate in this Healing Mass, let us approach the Lord with the same faith as the woman in the Gospel. Whether we seek physical healing, emotional restoration, or spiritual renewal, let us reach out to touch Christ with confidence. And let us remember that sometimes God's healing comes in unexpected ways.

Saint Teresa of Avila reminds us: "Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours." Sometimes God heals through medical professionals, through counselors and therapists, through spiritual directors, and through the loving care of family and friends. All healing ultimately comes from God, but it often flows through human instruments.

As we prepare to receive the Eucharist—the sacrament of Christ's healing presence—let us open our hearts to receive whatever healing the Lord wishes to bestow upon us today. And let us remember the words of Saint Augustine: "God had one Son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering." Our sufferings, united with Christ's, become pathways to grace, compassion, and deeper union with God.

Let us pray:

Divine Physician, you who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and restored life to the dead, look with compassion upon us today. Touch our bodies, minds, and spirits with your healing love. Strengthen our faith, that we might reach out to you with confidence. And grant us the grace to accept your will, trusting that you desire our ultimate good. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.